(James Tissot: Feeding of the 5,000)
"Give them some food yourselves"
Gen 14:
18-20
1 Cor 11:
23-26
Lk 9: 11b
– 17
In the
celebration of our Mass, as the bread and wine are offered by the priest and
the generous offering of the congregation is collected, once the offertory song
stops, the priest addresses the community: “Pray
brothers and sisters that my sacrifice and yours be acceptable to God the
almighty Father.” This has always struck me as a very
important line: “my sacrifice and yours.” What does this imply?
It implies
that the Eucharist is not a private devotion or an action solely of the priest.
While the priest stands sacramentally in the person of Christ the celebration
of the Mass it is not just his thing. The congregation is gathered to offer
this great prayer of thanksgiving to the Father in heaven. It is “my sacrifice and yours” each according
to our roles in the Church. While the priest plays a central role the gathered
assembly participates fully and consciously with him in offering their lives in
thanksgiving to the Father. In the end, however, we cannot forget that it is
Christ himself offered for us and to us. As he is given for us we are called to
give something ourselves.
We hear
this echoed in our Gospel story this Sunday.
It is one familiar to us and an event that clearly made a lasting
impression on the early Christians, many or at least some of whom were likely
present. We know the twelve Apostles
were all present and witnessed this event - the miraculous feeding of the 5,000
hungry by a compassionate Jesus who recognized both their spiritual and
physical hunger.
As the
Apostles came to him commenting on the obvious problem they faced: “Dismiss the crowd so that they can go to the
surrounding villages and farms and find lodging and provisions . . .” Jesus
challenged them: “Give them some food
yourselves.” The paltry amount of bread and fish they had must have seemed
an outlandish request from Jesus. As
always, our Lord used this event to teach a profound lesson of what the
Eucharist implies for every one of us. A story of a well-known contemporary
social activist may help: Dorothy Day.
Day was
not raised a Catholic but came to the faith later in life. She was first
attracted to the faith when she noticed that during the Catholic Mass, side by
side, knelt both rich and poor. Everyone
approached communion without distinction and they sat, knelt and stood together
in prayer. She was impressed for there
was something unique about this sacrament.
It implied a unity that was not so evident anywhere else. Here everyone
was equal and shared a common belief.
As Jesus
provided a meal for the throng that was gathered the Apostles took an active
part even in the clean up afterwards when a clear abundance had been
provided. As we all participate in the
Eucharist we are all called to the same.
Our second reading from Corinthians offers us that reminder.
If we merely look at today’s second reading from first Corinthians with just the verses quoted it
sounds
like a solid theological and historical reminder of what we believe is the
origin of the Eucharist: “The Lord Jesus,
on the night he was handed over, took bread, and , after he had given thanks,
broke it and said, “this is my body that is for you . . . likewise the cup
after supper, saying, ‘this cup is the new covenant in my blood . . .’” Every
Holy Thursday evening we remember this great moment in the life of Jesus. But
Paul was responding to a real concern.
In a time
before any Christian Churches, the wealthy Christians with larger homes and
rooms provided space for the community to gather for prayer and to “break
bread.” If we go back a few verses before the ones we read today we see Paul
strongly pointing to his Christian
community that when they gather for the Eucharist, everything else is going on:
divisions, factions, eating and drinking, “one
goes ahead with his own supper, and one goes hungry, while another gets drunk,”.
. . In this matter I do not praise you!” (1Cor 17 – 22). What a scene that must have been. So Paul calls them to task and reminds them
of the sacredness we all must not forget. Our continuation of Paul’s letter
today re-established the tradition that was handed on to him by the Apostles of
what Jesus shared at the Last Supper and that we believe he remains present to
us under these signs of bread and wine.
So, put away everything else and focus on the reason why you gather.
In the
end, we are reminded on this beautiful solemn feast that the Eucharist is food
provided by a merciful God for our journey through life; that we may not hunger
spiritually and inherit eternal life.
But, this “food” is unique – it is not a thing or an it but a person we
receive. Christ has handed himself on to us and we, then, must do no less for
each other. So, there is a direct connection
between our reception of the Eucharist and how we live our lives. This is clear
from both Paul and what Jesus said to his inner circle – feed them yourselves.
What takes
place in Church must continue beyond these walls in our homes, places of work,
and our personal lives. We are invited
to be transformed by the food, the person of Christ, we receive. It is this clear connection between receiving
our Lord in the Eucharist and how we live our daily lives that is a point
central to our Catholic and Christian faith.
The works of charity and compassion, mercy and reconciliation,
generosity and selflessness should not be left only to our institutions. Our personal lives, fed on the presence of
Christ’s body, blood, soul and divinity does not imply a passive reception.
When we
see suffering we should be moved to some sort of action response. When opportunities for assistance come along
we should offer some of our time. When a
need is presented we should step forward: A compassionate touch, a smile, a
helping hand, a willingness to put aside my own convenience and to be present
to another, to rid my life of prejudice and ambition in favor of humility and
acceptance. To become who I am not after
the model of Christ our food.
In the
busy lives we all live there must be room to: “Give them some food yourselves.”
Grant, O Lord, we pray,
that we may delight for all eternity
in that share in your divine life,
which is foreshadowed in the present age
by our reception of your precious Body and Blood.
who live and reign for ever and ever.
(Prayer after Communion)
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